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ryliereadss's review
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Dr. Seema Yasmin documents the Ebola outbreak through poetry. Even though Covid isn’t mentioned, some of these poems are very applicable. Not only does this collection reflect on epidemics, it also has poems about Dr. Yasmin’s experience as a woman doctor, the patriarchy and woman’s roles, and queerness in the medical community. I really enjoyed the poems that were formatted differently, like as a graphs and such. A fantastic collection, highly recommend!
shelf_1ndulgence's review
5.0
I have always been interested in medicine and medical advances, but given my background in psych, I have often focused on mental health and neuroscience.
During this pandemic I have found myself drawn to epidemiology and while I have read a lot of scientific articles, I have also read stories about how viruses affect people, family, and communities. How those neediest among us are often affected disproportionately and yet we are seldom aware or seldom care because it has not touched one of us.
Because of this, I instantly jumped on the opportunity to review an ARC of If God Is A Virus by Dr. Seema Yasmin. This is a collection of poems based on the original reporting from West Africa and the US during the Ebola epidemic. Dr. Yasmin is a doctor and a journalist and thus her unique perspective allows us to see the epidemic from multiple lenses in order to give voice to multiple key players, including the virus.
Her poems are poignant and they ask us to understand the true suffering of people, especially those so different from us. It also asks us to understand that not all virus are evil and that some serve bigger purposes and thus we should continue to study them so that we can reap the benefits and avoid the hurt.
In a time where so many of her poems can also be used to describe the Covid-19 pandemic, I think her writing are crucial and timely. I highly recommend this and I am grateful to @booksforwardpr for providing me with an ARC.
During this pandemic I have found myself drawn to epidemiology and while I have read a lot of scientific articles, I have also read stories about how viruses affect people, family, and communities. How those neediest among us are often affected disproportionately and yet we are seldom aware or seldom care because it has not touched one of us.
Because of this, I instantly jumped on the opportunity to review an ARC of If God Is A Virus by Dr. Seema Yasmin. This is a collection of poems based on the original reporting from West Africa and the US during the Ebola epidemic. Dr. Yasmin is a doctor and a journalist and thus her unique perspective allows us to see the epidemic from multiple lenses in order to give voice to multiple key players, including the virus.
Her poems are poignant and they ask us to understand the true suffering of people, especially those so different from us. It also asks us to understand that not all virus are evil and that some serve bigger purposes and thus we should continue to study them so that we can reap the benefits and avoid the hurt.
In a time where so many of her poems can also be used to describe the Covid-19 pandemic, I think her writing are crucial and timely. I highly recommend this and I am grateful to @booksforwardpr for providing me with an ARC.
half_book_and_co's review
4.0
"Ebola Cento
Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?
Fling your red dress faster and faster, dancer,
And say: Sir, were I you, as I should be,
A very pestilence upon you fall!"
Seema Yasmin is a medical doctor and science journalist. Her debut poetry collection, too, engages deeply with the Ebola crisis of 2014-2016 in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. But she also writes about other illnesses, and fundamentally about the racism, misogyny, queer-hatred within the medical field - all while employing such a variety of poetical means. A truly beautiful and harrowing collection.
Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?
Fling your red dress faster and faster, dancer,
And say: Sir, were I you, as I should be,
A very pestilence upon you fall!"
Seema Yasmin is a medical doctor and science journalist. Her debut poetry collection, too, engages deeply with the Ebola crisis of 2014-2016 in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. But she also writes about other illnesses, and fundamentally about the racism, misogyny, queer-hatred within the medical field - all while employing such a variety of poetical means. A truly beautiful and harrowing collection.
shaouais's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
One of the most powerful and evocative collections I have read. I had to keep putting it down to digest before going back for more - it was that emotive.
leavingsealevel's review
3.0
The fact that Yasmin wrote most/all of these poems well before covid is...something. The last two years have made explicit--over and over again--what is usually supposed to remain under a cloud of plausible deniability: that when some people are dying the powerful will drop everything to save lives, and when other people are dying we shrug and move on with our days.
rebzreads100's review
5.0
Really interesting poems. My favourite was the Lady Doctor one. This was one of five poetry books a friend sent to me and the one I had the hardest time getting into, but once I started focusing on them more and reading deeper I think this one is actually my favourite. There is a lot of good messages about various themes there.
sydneyjane_13's review
5.0
Dr. Seema Yasmin’s debut poetry collection, If God Is A Virus, is a beautifully-crafted example of interdisciplinary work, combining medical history, scientific facts, data, and art in the name of poetry. Drawing on first-hand journalistic and medical experiences from West Africa and the United States, Yasmin highlights a number of challenging concepts, from the specific cruelties and hardships suffered from the largest Ebola epidemic in history to the broader perspective of the value of human life.
With such intense, harrowing, and sometimes-controversial topics at hand, this collection is immaculately composed and arranged so as to demonstrate Yasmin’s expert knowledge and enriching personal experience with the concepts and events depicted. Through these poems, she explores themes including the horrors of colonialism and war as well as the impact of racism (overt and subconscious) on media representation, medical care, and empathy. She does not shy away from these things, illustrating them with vivid detail that may turn the stomach, perhaps in an effort to compel readers to understand, sympathize, or contemplate.
From the first poem entitled “Disease Is Not the Only Thing That Spreads,” Yasmin strikes her readers with visceral images and poignant language—disease is deadly, but so, too, is colonialism, for-profit medical models, and ill-informed “phobias.” We are struck with the bluntness of this flagship poem through its use of frequent fragments and decisive periods. This is not a piece designed to evoke longing or nostalgia or anything soft and human; it is instead capable of coaxing fury, lament, fear, disgust. Readers must cope with the harsh imagery (with mentions of “twisting bowels” and “fermenting torment” of note) without respite—by design, presumably, because the subjects of this poem (of the collection) have been forced to endure the same fate. By comparison, the readership experience is mundane, but it disturbs and compels the reader immediately with precise and evocative language, deliberate style, and abrasive descriptions.
The first appearance of a poem sharing the name of the book is stark in its brevity and expert use of white space. There is rage here as well as disappointment; offering pointed commentary on the anti-vaxxer ideology as well as the rampant hypocrisy in such circles (such as refusing to receive vaccinations but dabbling in recreational drugs), this poem presents a strange relationship between autonomy, religion, healthcare, and science. Yes, you may make decisions for yourself. Yes, God has wishes and plans. Yes, both of these things can contradict themselves, and yes, there are other players involved who can change the tide, rewrite fate, make every intention and goal irrelevant. It’s a fascinating piece that is carefully constructed and deserving of thoughtful consideration.
A fascinating element of Yasmin’s collection of poetry is the blend of media. Her poetry alone comes in varying forms, toying with space and structure, but of note, too, is the inclusion of other materials, from a scanned and annotated/edited/doctored copy of the Hippocratic Oath to the inclusion of a news article screenshot following two poems (which claimed two parts of the article’s title). This latter example especially proves effective in carrying the reader through the collection; we are reminded that these poems are not just visceral and evocative but that they are real and true, in all their pain and graphic detail. We are forced to reconcile with facts, not just the language she uses and our reactions to it.
Near the middle of the collection, we witness a unique stylistic approach to the blending of science and poetry through the parallelism of “Filovirus Phylogenetic Tree,” which serves to illustrate historical and medical history, and “Self-Portrait as Virus,” which uses a similar visual structure to present a simple but enticing piece about family, individualism, heritage, and the defiance of expectations/norms (regarding the preservation of lineage).
As we progress through the collection, Yasmin dips deeper into the facts and reality, forcing us to recognize yet again the effects of unchecked and unchallenged racism, bias, and bigotry, especially in positions (and fields) of power. She presents a chart which features the results of a 2016 study on biologically implausible beliefs and the percentage of participating medical students and doctors who, nonetheless, believe them. The title of this piece, “What They Hear When They Listen to Your Heart,” coupled with the presented findings, contributes to the realization of something that many people of color already know—the medical field houses racial biases that can actively contribute to a disparity of care or even an increase in harm. White medical students and professionals may not have a truly objective perspective; they are prone to false beliefs as most people are. The problem therein resides within the fact that a doctor holds considerable power over the health and well-being of their patients; with unchecked biases and implausible beliefs, doctors provide and prescribe different care to patients of color, resulting in healthcare inequality that, quite frankly, can kill.
Also of particular note are the poems within this collection that depict intersectionality, namely of identity; “Syndemics'' deviates from the more-medically focused pieces but remains true to the themes of bias, racism, xeno-/islamo-/homophobia, and how these bigotries impact the treatment and perception of others. Yasmin does a remarkable job here in exploring the implications of personal and social identities—who we are and who we are perceived to be may vary depending on circumstances, surrounded, actions, etc. And when it comes to intersectional identities, such as Yasmin’s own queer, brown, Muslim woman identity, she questions which came first and which is true?
Seema Yasmin’s efforts to intertwine fact and lyricism are effective, poignant, and astounding; this collection is a delightful, if at times suitably depressing and horrifying, read. I highly recommend this collection to anyone with a taste for well-woven but intricate language, technical and unabashed history/science, and hard-hitting socio-political commentary.
An Emmy Award-winning journalist, disease detective, medical doctor, and author, Dr. Seema Yasmin has done an incredible job with this poetry debut. You can also check out her recent book, Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall for Them, if you are interested in learning more about the communicable nature of misinformation, particularly in regards to health and medicine. This book aims to debunk false beliefs and educate readers on some medical facts that might not be common knowledge. With a masterful blend of history, data, and empathy conveyed through a playful yet professional voice, Viral BS is a worthwhile read. Plus, Yasmin also made a Buzzfeed quiz regarding medical misinformation, so test your know-how before reading the book!
If God Is A Virus will be available on April 6, and you can pre-order a copy today. You can also connect with Yasmin on Twitter!
With such intense, harrowing, and sometimes-controversial topics at hand, this collection is immaculately composed and arranged so as to demonstrate Yasmin’s expert knowledge and enriching personal experience with the concepts and events depicted. Through these poems, she explores themes including the horrors of colonialism and war as well as the impact of racism (overt and subconscious) on media representation, medical care, and empathy. She does not shy away from these things, illustrating them with vivid detail that may turn the stomach, perhaps in an effort to compel readers to understand, sympathize, or contemplate.
From the first poem entitled “Disease Is Not the Only Thing That Spreads,” Yasmin strikes her readers with visceral images and poignant language—disease is deadly, but so, too, is colonialism, for-profit medical models, and ill-informed “phobias.” We are struck with the bluntness of this flagship poem through its use of frequent fragments and decisive periods. This is not a piece designed to evoke longing or nostalgia or anything soft and human; it is instead capable of coaxing fury, lament, fear, disgust. Readers must cope with the harsh imagery (with mentions of “twisting bowels” and “fermenting torment” of note) without respite—by design, presumably, because the subjects of this poem (of the collection) have been forced to endure the same fate. By comparison, the readership experience is mundane, but it disturbs and compels the reader immediately with precise and evocative language, deliberate style, and abrasive descriptions.
The first appearance of a poem sharing the name of the book is stark in its brevity and expert use of white space. There is rage here as well as disappointment; offering pointed commentary on the anti-vaxxer ideology as well as the rampant hypocrisy in such circles (such as refusing to receive vaccinations but dabbling in recreational drugs), this poem presents a strange relationship between autonomy, religion, healthcare, and science. Yes, you may make decisions for yourself. Yes, God has wishes and plans. Yes, both of these things can contradict themselves, and yes, there are other players involved who can change the tide, rewrite fate, make every intention and goal irrelevant. It’s a fascinating piece that is carefully constructed and deserving of thoughtful consideration.
A fascinating element of Yasmin’s collection of poetry is the blend of media. Her poetry alone comes in varying forms, toying with space and structure, but of note, too, is the inclusion of other materials, from a scanned and annotated/edited/doctored copy of the Hippocratic Oath to the inclusion of a news article screenshot following two poems (which claimed two parts of the article’s title). This latter example especially proves effective in carrying the reader through the collection; we are reminded that these poems are not just visceral and evocative but that they are real and true, in all their pain and graphic detail. We are forced to reconcile with facts, not just the language she uses and our reactions to it.
Near the middle of the collection, we witness a unique stylistic approach to the blending of science and poetry through the parallelism of “Filovirus Phylogenetic Tree,” which serves to illustrate historical and medical history, and “Self-Portrait as Virus,” which uses a similar visual structure to present a simple but enticing piece about family, individualism, heritage, and the defiance of expectations/norms (regarding the preservation of lineage).
As we progress through the collection, Yasmin dips deeper into the facts and reality, forcing us to recognize yet again the effects of unchecked and unchallenged racism, bias, and bigotry, especially in positions (and fields) of power. She presents a chart which features the results of a 2016 study on biologically implausible beliefs and the percentage of participating medical students and doctors who, nonetheless, believe them. The title of this piece, “What They Hear When They Listen to Your Heart,” coupled with the presented findings, contributes to the realization of something that many people of color already know—the medical field houses racial biases that can actively contribute to a disparity of care or even an increase in harm. White medical students and professionals may not have a truly objective perspective; they are prone to false beliefs as most people are. The problem therein resides within the fact that a doctor holds considerable power over the health and well-being of their patients; with unchecked biases and implausible beliefs, doctors provide and prescribe different care to patients of color, resulting in healthcare inequality that, quite frankly, can kill.
Also of particular note are the poems within this collection that depict intersectionality, namely of identity; “Syndemics'' deviates from the more-medically focused pieces but remains true to the themes of bias, racism, xeno-/islamo-/homophobia, and how these bigotries impact the treatment and perception of others. Yasmin does a remarkable job here in exploring the implications of personal and social identities—who we are and who we are perceived to be may vary depending on circumstances, surrounded, actions, etc. And when it comes to intersectional identities, such as Yasmin’s own queer, brown, Muslim woman identity, she questions which came first and which is true?
Seema Yasmin’s efforts to intertwine fact and lyricism are effective, poignant, and astounding; this collection is a delightful, if at times suitably depressing and horrifying, read. I highly recommend this collection to anyone with a taste for well-woven but intricate language, technical and unabashed history/science, and hard-hitting socio-political commentary.
An Emmy Award-winning journalist, disease detective, medical doctor, and author, Dr. Seema Yasmin has done an incredible job with this poetry debut. You can also check out her recent book, Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall for Them, if you are interested in learning more about the communicable nature of misinformation, particularly in regards to health and medicine. This book aims to debunk false beliefs and educate readers on some medical facts that might not be common knowledge. With a masterful blend of history, data, and empathy conveyed through a playful yet professional voice, Viral BS is a worthwhile read. Plus, Yasmin also made a Buzzfeed quiz regarding medical misinformation, so test your know-how before reading the book!
If God Is A Virus will be available on April 6, and you can pre-order a copy today. You can also connect with Yasmin on Twitter!